Mainland Break are hard not to like.
The Denver, Colorado-based five-piece has a relentless positivity to them, a jangly charm that might just win over the most cynical and discerning of music fans.
Their long-awaited debut record, One Way Ticket To Midnight, provides the soundtrack to a sleepless night of rumination. Bringing together contemplative lyrics with glittering guitars and upbeat melodies, the record is sun-drenched indie rock at its finest.
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“One Way Ticket to Midnight takes the listener through a lonely, reflective night that recalls distant friendships, lost love, and missed opportunities,” says the band.
“It begins at sundown, with the golden nostalgia of Calling After and builds to the revelry of One Way Ticket to Midnight, set at the height of the night. The album works towards sunrise, but never realises the dawn and leaves the listener alone and grasping at fading memories.”
The lyrics, simple yet evocative, show flashes of late summer nights, young love, the unchangeability of the past and the uncertainty of the future.
On Portland, overlapping riffs, gentle “oohs” and a chorus of “Pausing under city lights / Flickering against the night / Never one to overstay / When the sun calls you away” give the feeling of something precious slipping from your fingers – Mainland Break know you can’t have the sweet without the bitter.
The accompanying video, fuzzed out and shot on Super 8 film, pays tribute to the simplicity of days gone by.
Recorded and produced by Mark Anderson (Sylvan Esso), mixed by Joey Oaxaca (White Reaper) and mastered by Dave Cooley (DIIV, M83), the album follows the band’s 2019 EP, Short Stay.
It features the previously-released singles Calling After and One Way Ticket To Midnight, both of which captured the attention of fans both in their hometown and on the global stage.
Made up of Evan Oliver, Kevin Kohl, Travis Rice, Ian Gassman, and Steven Hennig, Mainland Break are working on securing their place in the indie ether. With One Way Ticket To Midnight, they’ve managed to balance wistfulness with joy, creating feelings that linger long past the run time.
One Way Ticket To Midnight came out on July 21. Give it a listen here and keep up with everything Mainland Break is doing here.
This article was made in partnership with Mainland Break.
